Financial Comparison: First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) and Teradyne (NASDAQ:TER)

Teradyne (NASDAQ:TER) and First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) are both large-cap technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

99.8% of Teradyne shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.1% of First Solar shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Teradyne shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of First Solar shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Teradyne and First Solar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Teradyne	27.46%	43.81%	30.22%
First Solar	37.12%	18.33%	13.77%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Teradyne and First Solar”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Teradyne	$3.19 billion	13.01	$554.05 million	$8.71	30.51
First Solar	$5.22 billion	3.67	$1.53 billion	$17.28	10.31

First Solar has higher revenue and earnings than Teradyne. First Solar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Teradyne, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Teradyne and First Solar, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Teradyne	0	4	12	1	2.82
First Solar	2	9	24	3	2.74

Teradyne currently has a consensus target price of $397.73, indicating a potential upside of 49.65%. First Solar has a consensus target price of $255.17, indicating a potential upside of 43.27%. Given Teradyne’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Teradyne is more favorable than First Solar.

Volatility and Risk

Teradyne has a beta of 1.73, suggesting that its stock price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Solar has a beta of 1.73, suggesting that its stock price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500.

About Teradyne

Teradyne, Inc. develops and supplies automated test equipment and robotics used by manufacturers around the world. Its test systems help customers evaluate the performance and reliability of semiconductor devices, electronic products, wireless components and storage products. The company’s offerings include semiconductor test systems, system-level test equipment and wireless test solutions. Teradyne also serves industrial automation markets through Universal Robots, which makes collaborative robots, and Mobile Industrial Robots, which develops autonomous mobile robots for moving materials in factories and other facilities.

About First Solar

First Solar, Inc. is a U.S.-based solar technology company that designs and manufactures photovoltaic modules for utility-scale solar power projects. Its products use thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) technology, an alternative to the crystalline-silicon cells commonly used in solar panels. Founded in 1999, the company also provides services related to its modules, including recycling designed to recover and reuse materials at the end of a product’s useful life. First Solar serves customers in markets across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.